The objective, rational side of me knew and expected the
decision reached last night in Ferguson, yet without hesitation, a familiar feeling rushed into my stomach.
I felt it as a young NASA scientist and newly minted PhD in
a NASA-issued rental car that was pulled over by the police simply because I “matched”
the description of car thieves in the area. My credentials were far outweighed
by that feeling of humiliation and helplessness.
I felt it when someone asked, “why are you worried about
your son? He is your son. He would never do anything to disrespect authority
and the law.” That is a well meaning statement
but a somewhat naïve statement because on a cool, rainy night walking from the
store with a hoodie on, there is nothing that says, “Hey, he is Marshall
Shepherd’s son.” He just looks like a
kid with a hoodie on.
The “feeling” in many of our stomachs last night is shaped
by the history of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments, Images of police spraying water hoses on
citizens in the 1960s, and Countless incidents of well-educated friends of
mine with stories just like the car rental story above. Even President George
W. Bush weighed in on challenges that our society face in this area.(http://ahcela.weebly.com/webquest-three--a-speech-by-president-bush.html)
I had to get this down on paper because I know that there
are friends, colleagues, and good people of faith and wisdom that simply see this as a cut and
dry-- “follow and don’t break the law” and this wouldn’t have happened. Respect
authority and this wouldn’t have happened. We teach our children, as do most of
the African American families I know, to respect and honor the law. However,
many fear that this still may not be enough.
I won't dwell on the legal aspects of the Brown ruling as the system has
spoken, and we are a nation of laws.
However, I am a solutions oriented person, and I am a better
person because of the wide cultural, racial, and faith range of my friends. I even value perspectives that I disagree with. So
what do we do or say?:
We keep articulating such moments are opportunities to dialogue,
reach out, or share in our common ground faith. Yet, this is “hollow” talk as
long as polls continue to show that people’s perspectives on outcomes like
Ferguson are sharply divided along racial lines and we remain in our “comfort
zones.”
Until people step back and ask themselves the following
questions, the cycle will continue:
“Why did I just cheer for that ruling when a family lost
their son and a police officer and his family now have a dramatically altered
life?
“Why do I see this one way and my good friend from work or my daughter’s sports league sees this
completely differently? Maybe I should invite his family over for dinner to talk about
this and move beyond superficial interactions.”
“Why do we speak of charity and love then go onto social
media and write hateful comments?”
“Why do many worship separately when our Faith is common and
shared?”
“Irrespective of my viewpoint on this ruling, am I informed
by a limited sphere of influencers and do I callout my friends when they say or
post something that is clearly mean-spirited and inciteful?
Once again, we are faced with a moment that is dividing the
nation, showing the true colors of some, and placing honest fear in the hearts
of others. As my 7 year old son watched with the News with us last night, the innocence of the moment
was evident in his eyes. Contemplation was evident in mine because I have
to try to explain this to him.
In his Letter from the Birmingham Jail in 1963, Dr. King
noted (paraphrasing) that until all people challenge their own comfort
zones on this issue nothing will change.
I pray for peaceful expressions of viewpoint. I pray for the
family of Michael Brown. I pray for the family of Darren Wilson, and I pray for
open hearts and minds.
This was written at 5:00 am because I couldn’t sleep, but I
hope it helps someone sleep tomorrow………